India-Pakistan dialogue at its lowest ebb in last 4 years: India

Published: Friday, August 1, 2008, 23:34 [IST]

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Colombo, August 1 : In what is a clear indicator of deteriorating Indo-Pakistan relation Indian Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon on Friday used tough words to express the current state of India-Pakistan dialogue.

Menon said, "If you ask me to define the state of the dialogue it is in a place where it hasn't been in the last four years because we face a situation where things have happen in the recent past were unfortunately has effected the future of dialogue."

Recent attack on the Indian embassy in Kabul on July 7 is proving to be the flash point between the two neighbours.

India has blamed Pakistani intelligence agency the ISI for the attack thereafter ceasefire violations and terror attacks in Bangalore and Gujarat has further vitiated the environment and has put the peace process between the two countries "under stress".

It is not only India and Pakistan, which is grappling with the scourge of terrorism, but Sri Lanka and Afghanistan are other members, which are also badly hit by the malaise.

This is the reason why terrorism has sidelined socio economic issues from the agenda of the 15th South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit.

Addressing the reporters this evening Menon said, "Terrorism is one issue which is very important to us, we want to carry SAARC social and economic agenda forward."

OnSaturday, Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and Pakistani premier Yusuf raza Gilani will be meeting on the sidelines of the SAARC summit, the meeting is seen as a last hope to mend the falling relations between the two giant neighbours of South Asia. By Naveen Kapoor